The Choral by Alan Bennett – one of my favorite authors, you find more than ten reviews of his oeuvres, along with thousands of other notes on magnum opera from The Greatest Books of All Time and other sites, on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel

 

The Choral by Alan Bennett – one of my favorite authors, you find more than ten reviews of his oeuvres, along with thousands of other notes on magnum opera from The Greatest Books of All Time and other sites, on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel

 

8 out of 10

 

Alan Bennett https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/09/a-life-like-other-peoples-by-alan.html is a formidable, prolific writer, he is listed on Goodreads with 308 distinct works, and I think I may have reviewed (only) about fifteen, but I am instantly captivated when I see his name, just like in the case of The Choral

 

Admittedly, we have the reviewed astounding Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Henry Guthrie, we could see this as the main cheater, ergo this would be a leading role for the thespian that was nominated for three Academy Awards, the best known part would that of The English Patient  https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-english-patient-by-michael-ostaandje.html though Schindler’s List is also popular

The narrative of The Choral takes place during World War I, when they do not have men for the chorus, when one of the biggest conflagrations started, so they have to take in teenagers, and these are attacked at one point for not enlisting, one retorts ‘nobody will take care of your fanny’, words to that effect, and that was amusing…

 

And sad at the same time, for that woman had lost her brother, millions were killed for the most horrible, and absurd reasons during that world war, they only advanced for a few meters, and then they got pushed back again https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/12/all-quiet-on-western-front-by-erich.html

All Quiet on The Western Front might be the best book on this gruesome subject – in The Choral, they try to have Dr. Henry Guthrie as the conductor, and perhaps director for the cultural event, albeit there are many objections and obstacles, the result is mirthful and I found it delightful, though critics have not been overwhelmed

 

That is, some enjoyed, while others rejected the motion picture…they try to select the music, but since they are fighting the Germans, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and so many others are out, for some reason https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2026/03/fawlty-towers-by-john-cleese-is-best.html I am reminded of Fawlty Towers

There is an episode there, called The Germans, playing on the fact that they had been in the war (the World War II in the best comedy series ever) and then the stupendous, if awful Fawlty keeps offending his guests, now, in The Choral, they select Sir Edward Elgar, and then they write to him, Dr. Henry Guthrie gets a positive answer

 

That notwithstanding, we have this fantastic scene later, when the composer comes to visit, they think they got away with the fact that they changed his piece, but near the end of the stop, the visitor finds out and he erupts like a volcano…at some stage, I was thinking of The Graduate https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-graduate-by-charles-webb-10-out-of.html

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